The Holiday 411 Is Here!

September 28, 2011byMark Smelzer

Welcome to our Holiday Survival Guide! In addition to featuring a ­special ­­section jam-packed with tips on making this your most profitable season ever, we’re also taking our holiday help online with two free exciting webinars on Oct. 21 and Nov. 17. The first webinar, “Getting the Most Green for Christmas,” features staffing and training expert Brad Huisken; the second, “Keeping Your People Fired Up for the Holidays,” features sales guru Shane Decker. Each will include a Q&A for live attendees, so get your questions ready! To register, simply go to jckholidaysurvivalguide.com. If you miss either webinar, both will be archived on ­JCKonline.com.

Summer’s end was light on industry events and travel. A great exception was my first SJTA Atlanta Show. I’ve heard for years about this warm and friendly show that retailers and exhibitors enjoy in equal measure, and it was great to experience it for myself. This year was special, as the show had a completely fresh new look. Congrats to our pal Carol Young on a big success!

Also in Atlanta, I attended my first 24 Karat Club Southeastern United States annual black-tie banquet at the elegant Atlanta Country Club. It was a great opportunity to see many friends from the South and beyond, and especially exciting to see my good friend, the Diamond Council of America’s Terry Chandler, introduced as the group’s incoming president. Perhaps the biggest highlight was watching the initiation of our very own regional sales manager, Bobbie Hamburg, into the club. Congrats, Bobbie!

The Sept. 8 edition of The Daily Front Row included a 32-page section written by JCK, including a timeline introducing the fashion crowd to our rich history.

September witnessed JCK’s debut at New York’s Fashion Week! As I mentioned last month, Fashion Week’s official publication, The Daily Front Row, partnered with JCK to create a new collaborative issue illustrating the intersection of ­jewelry and fashion. The 32-page section included an introduction to JCK for the ­fashion crowd (a fun piece called “JCK-ology”), a look at jewelry’s role on the runways, and a story about our first original online video series, JCK Rock Star. We look forward to future successful collaborations with The Daily Front Row.

In other big news, the grand opening of our new JCK Marketplace, “The ­Jewelry Industry’s Essential Sourcing Tool,” also took place last month. On Oct. 1, we’re launching a twice-monthly newsletter highlighting exciting product from the site. Please take a moment to visit jckmarketplace.jckonline.com. Once there, you can register for free to become a member, allowing you to source new products the second they’re loaded, contact vendors directly for more information about their merchandise, comparison shop, receive our newsletter, create your personal “jewel box” to save products you like, and more.

Up next, Hong Kong! I look forward to recapping this exciting show in next month’s letter. Happy holiday planning!